


Say Uncle

by Shaddyr



Series: Stories of a (not quite average) Life [4]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: F/M, Future Fic, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-28
Updated: 2012-03-28
Packaged: 2017-11-02 15:21:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/370464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shaddyr/pseuds/Shaddyr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This fic is set in the same universe as <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/79132%20">"Outside The Box"</a>, which was written for the "It's Only Just Begun" fest <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/users/velocitygrass/pseuds/velocitygrass">velocitygrass</a> hosted when SGA went off the air. It's not necessary to read the first one, but they are, essentially, bookends for a life that falls between them. I plan to tell more of those stories eventually.</p><p>Thanks to <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/users/sharkie335/pseuds/sharkie335">Sharkie</a> and <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/users/outsideth3box/pseuds/outsideth3box">Outsideth3box</a> for the encouragement and beta work – you guys are AWESOME!</p>
    </blockquote>





	Say Uncle

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is set in the same universe as ["Outside The Box"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/79132%20), which was written for the "It's Only Just Begun" fest [velocitygrass](http://archiveofourown.org/users/velocitygrass/pseuds/velocitygrass) hosted when SGA went off the air. It's not necessary to read the first one, but they are, essentially, bookends for a life that falls between them. I plan to tell more of those stories eventually.
> 
> Thanks to [Sharkie](http://archiveofourown.org/users/sharkie335/pseuds/sharkie335) and [Outsideth3box](http://archiveofourown.org/users/outsideth3box/pseuds/outsideth3box) for the encouragement and beta work – you guys are AWESOME!

"I'm going to do it," Darren declared.

"Kay," Tim answered and stepped out from cover to open fire on the approaching Wraith drones. The next few minutes were a mêlée of frenzied fighting as more and more drones seemed to erupt from all around them. 

"God!" Darren complained, shooting a drone in the head before it could grab him then lobbing a grenade at the ones in the distance. "Warn me next time you decide to go kamikaze!" he yelled as the muted *THUMP* of the grenade going off vibrated through him. He turned and shot two more drones coming from their right, smiling at how fast they went down. The new ammo they'd found on this level was amazingly effective. 

"Look out!" Tim shouted from behind him. Darren spun around to find himself face to face with an elite Wraith soldier.

"Oh, crap," he yelped, scrambling backward in an attempt to swing his weapon up to shoot, but the angle was all wrong, and the soldier was faster than he'd expected. Before he could move, the Wraith's feeding hand shot out, hitting him in the dead center of his chest. A painfully sharp sensation drilled through him, driving him to his knees. It only lasted a second before the Wraith collapsed.

He took a gasping breath and looked up to find Tim standing over the Wraith, finishing it off with another shot to the head.

"Thanks," he said, his hand slipping under his gear to rub his chest as he clambered back to his feet. There was just no getting used to that feeling. He scowled when Tim snickered at him. "Pay attention to the game, man," Tim said, and Darren elbowed him in the side.

"Ow!" he complained, still laughing. "Touchy!"

"Screw you, asshole! Last time I tell you any big news."

Tim snickered again. "Whatever." He flicked his hand and stopped the game play. "You were right. This is even cooler than Goa'uld Invasion, but I'm starving. Let's eat."

Darren made a face. "I am totally playing a Wraith next time and kicking your ass," he said as he saved and then shut down the game. He still didn't know how in the world Mads had gotten her hands on a copy of _Gateworlds Pegasus: Runners_ , a full month before it would be available in stores, but if he hadn't already made his decision, getting this game for his birthday would have sealed it.

Tim peeled off his VR gloves and chest rumble pad. "Promises, promises," he said as he tossed them on the coffee table beside his goggles. He headed to the kitchen and opened the fridge, then stood there staring at the contents. "So, what are you doing that has you so distracted that you just sat there and let a Wraith stun your ass?"

Darren shoved Tim out of the way and grabbed the pizza box from the lower shelf, setting it on the counter. "Have you heard a single word I've said?" he demanded as he grabbed 2 cans of coke off the fridge door. 

Tim opened the box and snagged a slice, taking a huge bite and chewing with relish. "Mmmm."

Darren sighed and set a pop down in front of him. "Some best friend you are. I was talking about Mads."

Tim cocked an eyebrow at him. "What about her?" he asked before taking another bite.

Darren rolled his eyes. "I'm going to do it. I'm going to ask her out."

Tim choked on his mouthful, and started to gasp and cough.

"Dude, are you okay?" Darren asked, getting a little worried as his friend started to turn red.

Tim waved him away, coughing a few more times before taking a big swallow of coke. A few seconds later he seemed to be better, then let out a huge belch.

Darren rolled his eyes. "Classy."

"I try," Tim replied. Then he fixed him with a hard stare. "Are you serious? You're going to ask her out, like as in be your girlfriend? Like go steady?"

"Well, yeah," he replied slowly, frowning at the unexpected reaction from his best friend. "What's your problem, man? I thought you liked her. Her and Stacy have been best friends since forever, and you and Stacy have been dating since, what, grade 7? I thought you three were all tight. And how many times have the four of us gone to the movies or skiing or concerts together? Do you have something against her I don't know about?"

Tim let out a sigh. "No, man, we've all been friends since we were kids. It's just – look, have you met her family yet?"

Darren nodded. "She invited me over for dinner a couple times," he said. "Her mom is sorta weird – really smart and kinda scattered, but not bad or anything. Her dad's quiet, but I think he likes me." He smiled. "Did you know he's an English proff? It's cool cuz we can actually talk about books. "

"You're such a geek," Tim said. "You know that's the only reason Mads has anything to do with you."

Darren casually flipped him off. "So, her family's not that bad. I even like her little brother. That kid is scary smart – I hope he's not bent on world domination and using his powers for evil, cuz the world would be in trouble like whoa!"

Tim let out a snort. "If you ask me, the kid's a mouthy little brat."

"Yeah, but he's really funny too. He's so sarcastic, and his mom is always telling him to stop it, he's acting just like his Uncle Mer."

"Riiight," Tim said, nodding slowly his head. "And have you met the crazy uncles?"

Darren shook his head. "She mentioned her Uncle Mer who worked out of town, but-"

"Yeah," Tim cut him off. "Him and his partner. They're the ones you have to meet."

"Well, what about them?" Darren demanded.

"You know Joe Halbrook?"

He was caught off guard by the totally off topic question. "You mean the quarterback on the school football team who masses 125 kilos and is built like a tank?" Darren asked sarcastically. "Is there anyone in school who doesn't know who he is?"

"Yeah, well," Tim conceded. "Okay, you just moved here this summer, so you didn't know this, but he asked Mads out to the Halloween dance last year. Stacy said that Mads told him she wasn't allowed to go on a date unless her uncles approved."

"Dude, that's pretty weird."

"Yeah, you're telling me," Tim agreed. "But Stacy said that Mads said that she's good with it even though it annoys her. And nobody else in school knows what I am about to tell you - and you're not allowed to tell another living human being, or Stacy will castrate me, and then I will have to kill you. Do you understand?"

Darren nodded, eyes wide.

"Okay, so everyone knows that Joe is kind of a player, and the guys on the football team were taking bets on how long it would take him to get Mads in bed, because she sort of has a rep as a prude because she doesn't put up with bullshit."

Darren felt his hackles rise at that, but kept silent as Tim continued. "So he went and met the 'rents and then she took him to meet the uncles. The next day in school, he would not go anywhere NEAR her, just kept saying that her uncles were fucking nuts and she was a bitch, but he wouldn't actually tell anyone what happened." Tim grinned conspiratorially at him. "But Stacy thinks that Mads did it on purpose, because it's not like she didn't know what an asshole Joe was. It scared the shit out of all the jocks, so none of them will go near her now, and if she warns them off any of the other girls, they stay away. But the flip side is, even the decent popular guys are too nervous to ask her out, and since she's really pretty, most the nerds are too intimidated to ask her on a date either. And then you came along and didn't know any better."

Darren's stomach sank. "Do you mean she's only been going out with me because she has no other options?"

Tim stared at him for a minute, then Gibbs-smacked him. "Are you challenged? No, idiot, she likes you, god only knows why. What I meant was, it was great for her that a nice guy came along who wasn't too scared to ask her on a date."

He scowled, rubbing the side of his head. "So why are you telling me this now? Why didn't you mention it before?"

Tim gave him a long suffering look. "Look, if you're going to face the crazy uncles, you need to be prepared. Just – they're not bad guys, but if they think you're going to mess with Mads, they'll slowly chop you into little pieces and no one will ever find the remains. So you better make sure that you plan on treating her right, and if things don't work out, don't be an asshole. Because if you are, I'll chop you into little pieces before they can reach you."

"Geeze," Darren said as he crossed his arms. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"I never said you were planning to be an asshole. If I thought that, I would have broken your arm instead of sitting there while you slipped it around Mads at the movies last week.

Darren blushed at the memory, remembering how Mads had snuggled up against him. "Yeah, okay. I get it. Hurt your adopted little sister and die a painful, gruesome death. Check."

"Now you've got it!"

Darren picked up a piece of pizza and started eating as well. The two of them munched in companionable silence for a while, until the beast of teenage hunger was sated. After they were done, the box was thrown in the trash and they headed back to play another round of the game.

"So, you already played this to the end in easy mode?" Tim asked as they geared back up.

Darren nodded. "Most of the way," he said as he cinched the chest rumble pad in place. "You might wanna make sure you have the chest pad on low, cuz getting Wraith sucked stings like a bitch if it's on high."

"Duly noted," Tim replied as he adjusted his. "And what exactly happens at the end?"

"I never got all the way, but it's cool," Darren enthused. "AR1 is waiting for you at the Alpha site to take out the trackers and then you have to fight the big boss to get through the final gate to Atlantis. I read online that the General actually did motion capture for the game, it wasn't all just CGI." He grinned. "I kept getting killed, but it was pretty awesome. He's yelling at the doc to fix the DHD while you're fending off hordes of Wraith, and the doc is yelling that he needs more time, and suddenly you start seeing all this weird shit, drones and darts just everywhere, and Teyla's voice is shouting overtop to concentrate because the Wraith are projecting illusions into your brain and it's all just a massive clusterfuck if you don't keep your head, because you can kill everybody with friendly fire!"

Tim grinned. "Cool!"

 

***

 

Darren approached the table where Tim, Stacy and Mads were sitting, and took a deep breath. He'd put it off for a week after his conversation with Tim, and now every time the four of them were together – which was every day at school lunch and pretty much all day Saturday – he'd given him a look that clearly said, "Don't wuss out, asshole!". Today was the day.

"Hey guys," he said as he slipped into the seat beside Mads.

"Darren!" Mads said, leaning into him with a big smile on her face. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders without a second thought. "I was wondering when you'd get here." She looked at her watch. "It's almost 1:30!"

"My dad made me mow the lawn before I left," he explained with a grimace. "And then I had to take a shower cuz I was stinky and unbearable to be around."

"You're still unbearable to be around," Tim quipped, earning himself a smack from Stacy and a cry of outrage from Mads.

"Asshole!" he tossed back with a smirk.

Stacy leaned forward. "Hey, we were thinking about going to see The Siege. They've got it in Full-D-Senseo at Metro."

"Oh man!" he exclaimed. "That would be so awesome!" The new, epic full-immersion movie about the life and times of the Atlantis expedition had just been released the previous week. While some critics were ranting about how it glorified violence and was just a whitewashed version of events and the people of earth deserved the truth, most were raving about the riveting story, amazing production values and scientific accuracy. There had been hilarious stories about entire production teams being fired and replaced by the scientific advisor to the movie, who just so happened to be the actual chief science officer on Atlantis at the time. He grinned. "Man, that would be so cool, to actually go there, don't you think?" he asked.

Mads started coughing and he patted her back, concerned. "You okay?" he asked and she nodded.

Stacy and Tim just looked at each other and grinned. "Yeah man," Tim said, nodding his head. "I'd give my left nut to go there."

Stacy smacked him again. "Must you be so vulgar?" she demanded, before turning back to Darren. "So? We're going then?"

"Hell, yeah!" he agreed.

Tim stood up quickly. "Kay, me and Stacy will go get tickets for the 7pm show, and you and Mads just hang out here and... talk." He gave Darren a meaningful look, then grabbed Stacy's hand as she started to protest. "C'mon, Stace, let's go before they sell out," he insisted as he pulled her along.

Mads raised an eyebrow as she watched them walk away. "That was weird."

Darren cleared his throat. "Uhm."

She turned to face him with a questioning look. "Darren?"

"Okay, see I have something to ask you, and I've been trying all week, and I'm not very good at this, but I wanted to find out if, well, would you... I mean... oh, god, I suck at this," he moaned, covering his face with his hands.

He felt cool fingers wrap around his, pulling them away, and looked up into Mads' concerned face. "What's wrong? Tell me."

"I... Mads, would you – I want you to be my girlfriend. Do you want to, you know, go out? With me?"

He felt a huge sense of relief as he watched the smile break out across her face and then, suddenly, he had a lap full of warm, soft (oh god, soft in the all best places!) teenage girl. "Oh, I would love to!" she whispered in his ear, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. "I was wondering if you were ever going to ask me," she continued, and he realized that Tim had been right - Mads really did like him after all. He suddenly felt like he was 10 feet tall and he could fly. Life was perfect.

Then she drew back, still in the circle of his arms, and looked up nervously at him. She bit her bottom lip. "There's... just one thing," she said haltingly. "You have to meet someone first. Two someones, actually," she corrected. "My uncle and his partner. They're a little odd, and kind of eccentric, but don't let them scare you. They really are nice, they just have a strange way of showing it, especially Uncle Mer."

He nodded. "Tim said something about that."

She scowled. "He did? He's not supposed to say anything! Why that-"

"Whoa! Hold on!" he cut her off before she could start ranting. He'd learned early on that when Mads got into a full on rant, it was kind of like a Mac Truck going at 200 kph – unless you could nip it in the bud, get the hell out of the way because there was just no stopping her. "I told him that I wanted to ask you out – he is my best friend, after all, and I needed the moral support. Hey, I was nervous, okay?" he added off her outraged look. She was slightly mollified by that, and he continued. "Anyway, all he told me was that I'd have to be checked out and get the uncle's seal of approval. That's it, Mads, no other details." He tilted his head to one side. "Seriously, what's the big deal with all the secrecy around your uncle anyway? What, does he work at Area 51 or something?"

He watched with fascination as she gasped and her face went white. He blinked . "Oh my god. Mads! Does your Uncle work at Area 51? Holy shit!"

"Shhhh!" she hushed him, looking around to see if anyone could overhear them, but it was early afternoon on a Saturday at the mall food court, and the din of voices made it hard to hear the person sitting next to you, never mind across the aisle.

Mads slipped off his lap, and Darren immediately missed having her in his arms. He watched as she pulled out her cell, thumbed the sensor pad spoke and into the mic. "Uncle Mer," she said, and it obediently dialed. She touched the earwig, and after a moment, she smiled. "Hi, Uncle Mer! I'm fine, relax! I just – well, I need to bring someone to meet you and Uncle John. Are you busy right now?"

Darren bit his lip. He'd figured that it would probably be a while before he got to meet the secretive uncle(s) since Mads had commented in passing about him working a lot – and obviously as something incredibly secret and possible dangerous, holy cow! But from the conversation Mad's was having, it looked like that meeting was going to be sooner rather than later. He swallowed. Well, he supposed it was probably best to get it over with rather than wonder if he would pass muster. 

"Oh my god, Uncle Mer! I could just date him without even telling you, you know, so you better be reasonable, or I'll - well, yes I *do* like him, don't be a moron! Oh, please, I only brought Joe to meet you so you could terrify him into submission! You KNOW I had no intention of actually dating him, credit me with SOME of the genius genes you are always bragging about!" There was a pause, and then she rolled her eyes. "Look. Make time, today, right now, or the deal is off. I date who I want and I don't ask you what you think. Yes, that's right, take it or- oh, you have time now? I thought you might." She smirked. "Okay, give me 10 minutes to get us somewhere secluded, then ping me back for an all clear. Right. Love you!"

She tapped her earwig and grinned at him. "We're going to go see them before we go to the movie, okay?" she said as she stood up, and offered him her hand.

"We are?' he asked as he rose automatically to his feet and took her hand. She nodded and gave him an encouraging smile. His mouth was dry, but he managed to smile back. He could do this. Then he thought about the odd instructions that Mads had given her uncle. "So, uh - where are we going, exactly?" he asked as she pulled him along down the long hallway behind the food court shops that led by the bathrooms and to an emergency exit. He was puzzled when she stopped at the entrance to the employee only service corridor.

Mads fished out her keychain, selecting a small metallic key fob. She glanced around quickly and then waved it over the optical security panel. There was a *click* and the door popped open. 

His jaw dropped open as she grinned and dragged him through. "Mads!" he gawked at her as they slipped down the hall and then down a set of stairs, further and further into the bowels of the mall than he had even known existed. "How did you do that? Where are we going? And why?"

She turned to him and took his hands. "Uncle Mer gave me that little trinket just in case something ever happened," she explained. "There are people who don't like him, and he worried that if those people found out that I was his niece, they might hurt me, or kidnap me. So, I always keep that little keychain close, in case I ever need to get out of somewhere fast." She made a face. "He made me swear on pain of things worse than death I would never abuse it." The look transformed into a smirk. "But meeting a potential boyfriend? That is apparently not abusing the privilege at all."

He shook his head. "I still don't understand how going down into the sub-basement of the mall is going to get us to your uncle's place," he said, frustrated and confused, and more than a little worried. Mads had to worry about being kidnapped? Who the hell was her Uncle Mer, anways?

"My uncle has a little bit of pull, so sometimes he uses it for privileges that other people might think are unfair, but dammit! He spent years fighting to keep our planet safe, so he deserves to have a few perks. And once in a while, I'm not above using the fact he's my uncle to use those perks, too."

He was reeling over the "fighting to keep the planet safe" part when Mads' phone rang. She tapped her earwig. "Yes? Hey Uncle Mer. Yup, we're ready."

He opened his mouth to ask what they were ready for when the world shimmered around them. He blinked a few times then looked over to find they were standing in a large room (flight deck! His mind supplied) On one side, two people in flight suits sat at consoles framing another man sitting in a raised chair (command chair!) and on the other side - whoa! A very large window showed them in orbit around the earth. He felt himself go a little weak in the knees. "Mads?" he asked, voice a little shaky. "What. In. The. *Hell*?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered, giving his hand a squeeze "It's my Uncle John's rule – if any guy I'm interested in can't adapt to quickly changing circumstances without forewarning, I'm not allowed to date him." Then she turned to face the man in the center seat. "Hi Colonel Lorne!" she said brightly.

"Hello, Madison," Lorne said with a smirk. "Bringing someone home to meet the doctor?"

She nodded, and Darren was extremely grateful to feel her arm slip around him. "Darren, I'd like you to meet Colonel Evan Lorne. He was second in command on Atlantis for a number of years before he became commander of this ship."

"The Daedalus," Darren whispered, awe colouring his tone. "The first ship of its class, she carries sixteen F-302s and can reach the Pegasus Galaxy in eighteen days. She's outfitted with Asgard beaming technology – which must be how we got here!"

Lorne gave him a pleased nod. "You know your ships," he said with a smile. "And now I'll just be sending you off to see the doc. Maddy, when do you think you'll be heading back?" he asked.

"Oh, we're going to see a movie at 7, so we need to be back by then. Oh crap," she said suddenly. "Can you boost my cell signal? I need to call Stacy and tell her we'll meet up at the food court at 6 or something."

Lorne shook his head with a chuckle. "I think that can be arranged," he agreed.

As Mads made the call, Darren's gaze kept flitting back and forth, trying to take in everything at once - the plexi glass nav-panels lit up at the back of the flight deck, the officers smirking at them, the Earth hanging in space, just outside the window in front of them - it was all so amazing. He didn't know what to think or feel. His head was spinning with the enormity of it all.

"Okay, Stace, we'll see you around six. Bye!" Mads tapped her earwig then looked up at Lorne. "Thanks! If you could pick us up at about a quarter to six, that would be excellent."

"I'm sure we can work that into our schedule," he commented dryly. "I'll contact the doc if anything comes up, otherwise, I'll see you in a few hours."

Darren looked at Mads as she grabbed his hand again. "Ready?"

He didn't have a chance to get a word out before the world shimmered again. For the second time in less than ten minutes, he found himself in an unfamiliar place. He glanced around the dimly lit room. The walls were covered with bookshelves, and there was a drafting table with what looked like blueprints or schematics scattered all over it in one corner of the room. There was also a desk with 3 monitors and two laptops sitting on it, and he found himself wondering once again, exactly what it was that Mads' uncle did.

"UNCLE MER!" she shouted, clasping Darren's hand firmly in her own and dragging him up the stairs. "WHERE ARE YOU?"

"Hey, Maddy," came a disembodied voice from somewhere upstairs. "He's making more coffee."

Darren froze. He knew that voice.

"THANKS, UNCLE JOHN!" Mads yelled. When they reached the top of the stairs, she shoved the door open and he squinted at the sudden brightness. "C'mon," she said as she tugged him to the right.

"Mads!" he hissed, digging in his heels and refusing to budge. She lurched to a stop and turned to face him. "What?"

"I know that voice," he whispered, wide-eyed. "That's... that's-"

"So, you finally decided to show up after disrupting my whole day, hmm?" a new voice interrupted, sounding by turns cranky and amused. Darren was starting to feel very light headed – he knew that voice as well.

Mads gave him a look that was half apology, half amusement with a shrug of 'what can I do, they're family' thrown in besides, before turning to face the man who was walking toward them. 

"Oh, Uncle Mer! It's not like you can't take a few hours out of your busy schedule for your favorite niece!" she said as she gave him a hug.

"Hmph," he huffed after she finally stepped back, before fixing his laser-like gaze on Darren. "And who do we have here?"

Darren's mouth fell open, and he tried to speak, but no words would come out. Mads' uncle gave a snort. "This one's not so quick witted."

"Oh, stop it!" Mads said crossly, stepping back to wrap a protective arm around Darren's shoulders. "He's had exactly no warning of what to expect, as per your and Uncle John's orders, so maybe you can just cut him a little slack, hmm?" 

Her uncle's eyes widened and he smirked at her. "Oh-ho! So you really *do* like this one, then," he chuckled. "Well, come on," he gestured for them to follow him. "Let's introduce your young man to John, shall we?"

As he led them down the hall to a large family room, Darren turned his head to look at Mads. "Your Uncle Mer is Dr. McKay? THE Dr. Rodney McKay?"

"Uhm," she fidgeted a little eyes dropped to the floor. "Yeah."

"Jesus, Mads!"

She laughed nervously. "That's not all, actually."

He made a strangled noise. "There's more?"

They emerged into a large family room, with floor to ceiling windows letting in the bright afternoon sunshine. The view was spectacular – they were overlooking an expansive sandy beach from a high bluff, and he could see surfers out riding the waves. There was a fireplace on one wall, a comfortable looking, massive leather sofa with a few matching chairs, but the piece de la resistance was the far wall. It was almost entirely covered by the largest, flat screen, Full-D TV he'd ever seen in his life. 

There was a man decked out in XBOX Ultimate VR gear – gloves, chest rumble pad, and holy cow! He was wearing what looked like full-immersion SensorNet head gear with an integrated vision band instead of just VR goggles. Darren had seen prototypes, but those nets were supposed to still be in development! The VR scene being projected in front of the screen captured his attention and he recognized _Gateworlds Pegasus: Runners_ playing. Darren squinted at the stats HUD in the lower left corner; even without VR goggles, he could see the health meter was almost completely depleted. He looked back up and gasped as a Wraith boss came barreling straight for him, arm outstretched.

"Look out!" he yelled instinctively, but it was too late. The Wraith struck home, and the player went down. Darren winced, remembering the buzz shock of getting Wraith sucked. "That's harsh, man," he commiserated.

"Damn," came a muffled curse, and the man flicked his hand, stilling the game play, before turning to face them. "Thanks for the shout out," he said as he pulled off the gloves and the SensorNet to reveal a crazy head of hair and a face that Darren recognized from a thousand newspaper articles, TV news stories and, most recently, the AR1 team in his new game.

"Ah, no problem," Darren managed, voice unsteady. He watched curiously as Dr. McKay crossed his arms, glared at _General John Freaking Sheppard_ , and proceeded to lay into him. "I just cannot understand your fascination with playing this game," he snapped, irritation colouring his tone. "It wasn't enough, really living through it for all those years? Now you have to do it again virtually?"

Sheppard flashed him the smile that had been captured by so many news hounds since the Stargate program went public. "Aw, come on, Rodney. It's a lot more fun when you don't actually have to worry about getting eaten by the Wraith," he said. Then he made a face. "I gotta tell you though; these chest packs have a disturbing degree of realism to them." He peeled his off and dropped on the table. "I think I'll skip that part next time."

Dr. McKay seemed to have forgotten them for the moment, moving in to slip an arm around Sheppard's waist while placing his other hand in the centre of his chest. "I just – John," it came out plaintively, and Sheppard covered McKay's hand with his own. "I know," he replied, then dropped a chaste kiss on his lips.

Darren felt Mads' arm wrap around him, her head resting on his shoulder, and he reciprocated, drawing her close to him, glancing down to find her smiling up at him. He grinned back in helpless amazement.

"Mads. Your Uncle Mer is the smartest man on the planet, quite possibly the universe."

"Well, that's what he'll tell you, anyway."

"And your Uncle John is General John Freakin' Sheppard! The guy who pretty much single-handedly defeated the Wraith and saved the galaxy!"

"Just try telling Uncle John that," she rolled her eyes and shook her head. "He will go on and on about how it had nothing to do with him at all, it was really his team that did the saving, but – yeah, that's about right."

He leaned in to touch their foreheads together. "No pressure, huh?" he asked wryly, and she snickered. "So, I figured I can probably bond with your Uncle John over video games, but Dr. McKay? I don't know, Mads. He thinks I'm an idiot and he wants to kill me with his brain. He probably can, too!"

She laughed. "Don't let him scare you. He pretends to be a crotchety old bastard, but he's really a big softie."

"I heard that!" McKay growled. Sheppard laughed, leaning in to steal one more kiss before moving over to one of the big, comfy chairs and settling in. McKay stood leaning against the chair, resuming his original pose of crossed arms with a grumpy look on his face. Sheppard gestured for Mads and Darren to sit on the sofa.

"So, Darren. Tell us about yourself."

**Author's Note:**

> Credit for _Gateworlds Pegasus: Runners_ must go to Sharkie – I was talking about the zombies in Left 4 Dead version whatever it would be 10 years or so from now, and she said, "Hey, and Wraith too, if the Gate program has been revealed," and I said, "OMG, I LOVE YOU SO HARD!"


End file.
